It's long, low and menacing, looking unlike anything to ever come out of the stable. There's not a trace of to be found, nor any other vehicle for that matter. The S7 is a clean-sheet design that Steve Saleen calls "an American interpretation of the European supercar." Created in the same spirit as exotics like the Ferrari F40, Porsche GT1 and McLaren F1, the S7's mission is to bring race-car performance to the street with a decidedly American flavor.

One walk around the car quickly settles any lingering doubts of Saleen's status as a "tuner" versus a "manufacturer." Built at the company's new 150,000-sq.-ft. facility in Irvine, California, the S7, unlike its Mustang-derived brethren, in no way draws its origins from any preexisting production vehicle.

Instead, it starts life in the same fashion as many race cars, with a lightweight steel-tube chassis mated to a powerful mid-mounted engine. The chrome-moly space frame is reinforced with honeycomb-composite panels for increased rigidity while the suspension consists of unequal-length A-arms and coil-over shocks at all four corners. Race-spec Brembo calipers tackle the braking duties accompanied by massive vented rotors, 15-in. front and 14-in. rear.

At center stage sits Saleen's own all-aluminum 7.0-liter V-8 and 6-speed transmission. Good for 550 bhp and 525 lb.-ft. of torque, this thundering powerplant makes short work of any stretch of road, especially when combined with the S7's svelte 2750-lb. curb weight. Some 1200 lb. lighter than the similarly exotic , this lack of mass gives the S7 a surprisingly nimble feel despite its substantial exterior dimensions.

Inside, accommodations are snug, yet manageable. Once through the scissor-type doors and planted in the racing-style leather buckets, the cabin actually seems to open up. It's certainly not spacious, but in the cramped world of supercars, the S7 fits quite well. Shoulder and head room are good and all controls appear where they should. The driver's footwell could stand to be wider for the Bigfoot set, but once you're strapped in and situated behind the small-diameter steering wheel, everything falls smartly into place.

Even in street trim, never strays far from its competition counterpart, the S7R. Both iterations share many of the same vital components. The race-car chassis gains additional rollcage bracing, while the engine and suspension are tuned toward racing, but retain the street S7's basic configurations. The carbon-fiber bodywork is very similar, with the S7R also employing quick-release latches and a raised rear wing. Brake systems for both versions are identical.

As such, the S7 also shares similar performance with the S7R, a car that won four international GT championships last year, along with a podium finish at Le Mans. Fire it up and everything about the S7 screams high velocity. The thrust of the V-8 is ferocious in any gear and at any speed. It pulls with ear-pinning torque when summoned, yet remains docile and surprisingly muffled at commuting speeds. Initial estimates put a 0–60-mph sprint somewhere in the mid-3-second range and a top speed at more than 200 mph.

The ultra-quick steering takes some getting used to, but it does allow the S7 to be positioned precisely. As speeds climb and its aerodynamic forces come into play, the S7 requires a deliberate mindset shift to accept that the faster you go, the more grip you have.

Obviously, physics only allows this to happen up to a point, but on anything short of a high-speed race course, that point will not likely be reached by anyone but a professional racer. And like its handling, the S7's braking is the stuff of pure race cars. At no time is there ever any concern that the brakes won't get the car slowed down no matter what the situation.

Saleen delivered its first customer S7 at the beginning of June and company officials expect to be turning out one car per week by midsummer. There are already firm orders for the first 50 cars, so expect to wait at least a year before tossing down $395,000 for an S7. Expensive, yes, but what that buys is a striking new supercar with the looks, performance and racing pedigree to take on the best European exotics with the added distinction of coming from the good ol' U.S.A.